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High school football playoffs ‘23: Bradford, St. Augustine lead Suburban teams into state semis

St. Augustine's Devonte Lyons carries the ball against Bartram Trail. (Ralph D. Priddy, News4JAX)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s the state semifinal round of the high school football playoffs. Two area teams are still alive in the Suburban classification, Bradford and St. Augustine. A look at the playoff matchups for those teams this week. Games are Friday. See here for a look at the Metro matchups and the Georgia matchups.

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Class 3S

(4) Fort Myers Dunbar (10-2) at (1) St. Augustine (12-0), 7:30 p.m.

Road here: Dunbar d. Fort Myers, 21-17; d. Golden Gate, 12-7; d. Naples, 12-10; St. Augustine d. Middleburg, 52-14; d. Pensacola Escambia, 31-14; d. Choctawhatchee, 35-26.

Winner gets: (3) Ocala Vanguard (11-2) or (2) Daytona Beach Mainland (12-1) in the state championship on Dec. 7 at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

Glance: The Yellow Jackets are hosting their first state semifinal game since 2007, a 35-0 win over North Marion. They lost the following week in the state championship to Naples, the team that Dunbar beat last week. St. Augustine last reached the final four in 2017 when it lost to Seffner Armwood. St. Augustine RB Devonte Lyons remains one of the area’s top uncommitted prospects, a four-year player who could eclipse 4,000 rushing yards in his career this postseason. He has nine rushing TDs in three playoff games. QB Locklan Hewlett was picked off twice last week but has been relatively clean as a passer all season. St. Augustine’s talent at receiver may be the area’s best position group across the board. It’s been possible for teams to limit one receiver, but they’ve struggled to cover them all. Carl Jenkins Jr. is a 1,000-yard player with 13 TDs. Trenton Jones and Myles Simmons are both over 800 receiving yards with 17 TD grabs. The defense has been susceptible to big plays, but it has some playmakers. LB Drake Lusk and LB/S Julian Quintero, S Ja’Ki Singleton CBs Braylon James and Marquice King and DE Mike Wright are the big names to watch. CB Jimmie Wheeler is coming off a strong game against Choctaw, including a PBU on a third-down play to force a punt, and another in the end zone to save points.

Class 2S

(3) Pensacola Catholic (11-2) at (2) Bradford (13-0), 7:30 p.m.

Road here: Pensacola Catholic d. Suwannee, 41-6; d. Walton, 41-15; d. Florida High, 17-10; Bradford d. Atlantic, 42-0; d. Gainesville Eastside, 28-7; d. Baker County, 43-0.

Winner gets: (4) Sarasota Booker (11-2) or (1) Cocoa (12-1) in the state championship on Dec. 8 at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

Glance: The Tornadoes made it to this point last year, only to lose a 31-21 game to eventual state champ Cocoa. They’ve on a collision course with the Tigers, who should be a heavy favorite in their state semi. Bradford’s unreal 2022 season has given way to an even better encore. It has allowed just 49 points all season, a paltry 3.8 per game average. For those who expected a close game against Baker County last week, the Tornadoes were having none of it. They labored to a 12-0 win over the Wildcats in Week 1 and then obliterated them 43-0 last week, their sixth shutout of the season. Bradford’s defense, led by LBs Chason Clark, Duke Lewis and Devon McBride, has no soft spots. DE Torrin Brazell is a TFL machine. ATH Daejon Shanks and Chalil Cummings are invaluable on both sides of the ball, Shanks as the QB and Cummings at both receiver and in the secondary. Can Pensacola Catholic solve that defense? Only Miami’s True North has managed to put up more than a TD against the Tornadoes, scoring 13 on Bradford. RB/LB Nigel Nelson has rushed for 1,250 yards and 23 TDs for the Crusaders. He also has a team-best five interceptions. The only common opponent between these teams is Suwannee. Bradford thumped the Bulldogs 35-3, while Catholic beat them 41-6.

State semifinals

Friday’s schedule

SUBURBAN

Class 3S

(4) Fort Myers Dunbar (11-2) at (1) St. Augustine (12-0)

(3) Ocala Vanguard (11-2) at (2) Daytona Beach Mainland (12-1)

Class 2S

(4) Sarasota Booker (11-2) at (1) Cocoa (12-1)

(3) Pensacola Catholic (11-2) at (2) Bradford (13-0)

METRO

Class 4M

(4) Tampa Plant (11-2) at (1) Miami Columbus (11-2)

(3) Mandarin (10-3) at (2) Monarch (11-2)

Class 2M

(4) Bolles (8-5) at (1) Miami Norland (13-0)

(3) Berkeley Prep (11-2) at (2) Plantation American Heritage (10-1)

Class 1M

(3) Trinity Christian (9-3) at (2) Clearwater Central Catholic (12-0)

(4) Archbishop Carroll (11-1) at (1) Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (12-0)


About the Author
Justin Barney headshot

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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